Текст книги "Twisted Together"

Автор книги: Pepper Winters

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 33 страниц)

I glared into her eyes—dying to see what she hid, dreading it at the same time. “You’re lying—but I don’t know why.” Shaking my head, I tried to grab hold of sanity.

The monster inside urged me to string her up and whip the words free from her mouth. She needed to be taught that keeping things from her master was not fucking allowed. Lying was the worst treason of all.

But then the voice of reason smashed my limbs.

You’ll never forgive yourself for doing this against her will.

But that was the kicker. I couldn’t tell if this was against her will or if she wanted it as much as I did.

Tess’s pulse hammered beneath my grip; her skin turned cool as winter. For the first time in my sorry existence, I couldn’t control the bastardly desires roaring in my blood.

Giving her one last chance to stop this, I whispered, “Tell me to stop. Tell me what you’re not letting me see.” My eyes dropped down her naked body, searching for clues of horror or lust. She was blank in both nuances and speech. “Do you want me to hurt you, esclave? Do you want me to fill you with my cock and grant you pain while you come?”

Something darted in her gaze, then was gone. A snake in the grasses of fucking temptation.

Tess dropped her hold on my wrist, stroking my cheek. Her gentle caress jolted me, granting me a lifeline in the sea of black.

I loved her.

I adored her.

I didn’t want to hurt her.

“You never have to ask. I’m yours. I want what you want. I want whatever you give me.” Her soothing voice twisted my brain.

See she wants this, too. You’ve nothing to worry about. Take her. Stop holding back.

Relief and excitement shoved away the hesitation and uncertainty. My fingers tightened, cutting off her air. Her eyes flared but displayed no other sign of alarm.

Don’t. Pull away. Something isn’t right.

That voice. The words of wisdom I always listened to.

Too bad it faded with every heartbeat.

Pressing my lips against hers, I never looked away from her blue-grey depths. She stood so regal, not slouching or trembling when I released my grip. “Are you telling me the truth?”

Tess never spoke to me in French, but she whispered, “Je comprends. C'est bon.” Yes. It’s okay.

 Her touch threaded through my hair, cupping the back of my skull. Her nails sank into my scalp, causing me to break out in shivers. The sharp thrill reminded me all too well of being strapped to the bed and at her fucking mercy.

She’d torn me apart.

She’d flayed me alive.

She’d made me weak.

The beast inside growled; I trembled, trying to keep the cage locked and secure.

“Take your hands off me, Tess,” I said, low and curt. Gritting my teeth, I fought against the violent craving. The one screaming of retribution. I wanted payback. Strike for strike. Lash for lash.

Tess stiffened, dropping her arms.

The sane part of my brain—the part unshadowed by monsters—fought to understand what had changed. Something about her drew everything evil to the surface. She called to this awful part of me.

Squeezing my eyes, I hissed, “I need you to stop.”

Stop so I don’t hurt you. I don’t want to fucking hurt you.

Yes, you do.

“There’s nothing to stop,” she murmured. “I want this. I want you.”

“Stop!” I roared, shaking her. My fingers burned to choke. Unable to stand touching her, I shoved her away. She fell onto the chaise, her breasts bouncing with the force of her fall.

I spun away, clutching my head. Get out. Get out!

I had to get control. I had to find a way to protect her. None of this was right.

Then why does she give you permission?

I opened my eyes, hoping to see the strong unsullied woman I’d fallen so madly for. I needed to see her strength. But all I saw was a shell. A vacant shell.

Fuck!

I took a step back, cursing when something sharp poked my sole. I looked down and my stomach hollowed out.

My belt.

Hit her. Strike her. Turn her white skin red.

Breathing hard, I stared right into Tess’s flushed face. Where was my esclave? The equal measure of fuckedupness I’d come to rely on was gone—twisted into something entirely different that I couldn’t understand.

Her fire had been replaced by acceptance and resilience. Her eyes didn’t taunt me to hurt her, or glimmer with lust. She stood, waiting like a perfect fucking slave.

Goddammit!

My anger went from simmering to explosive; I lost another part of my soul.

Her panting chest drew my attention; my eyes devoured her naked flesh. “I can’t stop it. Whatever you’re doing—it’s making it worse. Ten times worse. A thousand times worse.” The roaring grew louder, tearing my brain apart with the need to give in. “Tess—you’re…” You’re not safe. Run!

Her entire body flushed with fear before being hidden by submission. Her back straightened. Her eyes screamed some silent message while her mouth devastated my remaining self-control.

“Do it. Please, Q. You need to. I see how much you need to.”

I wrenched my hair. Tell the truth. Stand up to me.

Only she could stop this. Only she could put me back on the leash I desperately needed.

“I’ll hurt you. Do you understand that?” I could barely speak through clenched teeth.

Silence.

Tell me no. Be brave.

She bowed her head. “Yes.”

I shook my head, disbelieving. “I’ll draw blood. Do you want that?”

Her shoulders rolled. “I understand.”

“I’ll make you fucking scream. You can’t mean it.”

Her body hunched. “I do. I do mean it.”

The beast roared, and I had nothing left. No sanity, no strength. She’d given me absolute control while presenting her fear and acceptance in front of a man who’d fought against his baser desires all his life.

This was why I ran from weak women.

This was why I never let myself go near a slave who’d been used to the point of graceful compliance.

Because I wasn’t fucking strong enough to say no. I wouldn’t hold back—not now.

The leash snapped free. The cage flung wide.

I snatched the belt off the floor.

Breathing harder than I ever had before, I slammed down on the chaise beside Tess and yanked her over my lap.

The rapid pace of her chest rose and fell; her clammy skin stuck to my thighs as panic sprang from her pores. I’d crossed the threshold of no turning back.

Tess wiggled, but I held her down.

“Q…Q, wait.” Her voice rose an octave, filling with terror.

Before, it would’ve been enough to cut through the dense black fog I existed in, reining me back.

But not now.

Now it fucking fed me.

Having her splayed, so vulnerable over my legs, set free every diabolical demon inside. I would hit her. I would fuck her. And I wouldn’t stop until I tasted her blood.

Bending over, I hissed in her ear, “You’re going to writhe for me. You’re going to scream.”

 She swallowed a sob, dropping her head. Her entire body went boneless over my thighs. Yanking her hair free from the tie, I fanned out her blonde curls, stroking her back with trembling fingers.

My cock throbbed in time with my heart. I could’ve come just by rubbing against her prone body.

I flinched as Tess wrapped her arms around my calves, anchoring herself to me. Her body wracked with shudders, but she didn’t make a sound.

Pressing her shoulder blades with one hand, keeping her in place, I folded the belt in half with the aid of the chaise. Grabbing the buckle, I ran my fingers from her shoulder blades, down her spine, to stroke her ass.

So white. So pristine.

My vision was all greys and blacks. Colour no longer existed in my world. I’d embraced everything I deplored—there was no leaving until I’d sated what needed to be sated.

Not only did I want to physically abuse her, I wanted to mentally ruin her, too.

If I were sane, I would’ve told myself I was a sick fuck and to end this madness before it was too late.

But how could a monster be sane? A monster did what he wanted. A monster took what was given.

“Do you love me, Tess?” My voice was black, heavily accented with a language that was meant for romance not bloodshed.

She nodded without hesitation.

I ran my finger down the centre of her ass, deliberately taunting her with softness. “Do you want this as much as me?”

Again another nod instantly.

“Do you want me to stop?”

She shook her head.

Such a perfect slave. Such a perfectly well-trained slave.

With a palm, I stroked her gently, loving the twitch of her hips. Her hair hung around her face, obscuring her features. Her mind might not be mine, but her body was.

Mine to paint with violence.

I slid two fingers between her legs. She stiffened as I found her folds. I angled my hand to penetrate her but her thighs snapped tight, blocking my right as her master to touch her.

A headache thundered into being—gathering tight and painful behind my eyes. How dare she deny me!

“Tu payeras pour ça.” You’ll fucking pay for that.

Raising my hand, the sun glinted off the buckle as the belt came down fast. The first slap of leather made my vision sputter and fade. The headache morphed into a mind-splitting migraine—my last defence against the beast inside.

Headaches were the bane of my life—but also my salvation.

Stop!

My eyes focused on the red lash across Tess’s ass—there was no chance of stopping.

I was too far gone.

Another strike and my cock jerked with delirium. This was what was missing in my life. This deliciousness. This supremacy. I’d never hit so hard. Only two strikes and already blood blisters formed.

Tess’s fingernails dug into my calf, but she didn’t make a sound. Her entire body locked into place, feeling like she’d transformed into a diamond rather than blood and bone.

I hit her again.

This time across the top of her ass. My mouth filled with eagerness to lick at the tiny crimson droplet welling from the strike. Her white skin turned into a criss-cross of pink and red.

With a fingertip, I rubbed the blood across her flesh in a smear of rust.

Tess whimpered.

Her whimper did two things to me—shattered my black-riddled heart and hurtled me faster into hell.

My headache latched onto my nervous system making me hot and jittery and sick. I wanted to throw up.

Stop!

The monster had grown from whisperer to commander. I had no way of halting. Hitting her wasn’t enough. I needed to mark her everywhere. Her ass had been claimed. It was time for other places.

Tossing the belt away, I pushed her off my legs onto the carpet. She landed on all fours, her breathing ragged, face mottled with emotion. She refused to meet my eyes. Her lips were parted, panting hard, matching my out of breath breathing.

Stalking to the side table where a red candle rested, I scooped up the lighter beside it and lit the wick. The flame burned bright, hurting the backs of my eyes.

Carrying my prize back to the chaise, Tess’s gaze locked onto the flickering fire. Tears gushed down her cheeks, tracking over her white skin in a river of grief.

I wanted sympathy, horror—some emotion that reminded me of my humanness. But I’d lost it the moment Tess gave me permission to cave. Nothing else mattered than doing what I wanted. And I wanted to burn her.

Grabbing her wrist, I plucked her upright, dragging her to the small table at the back of the couch.

“Q—please…don’t.”

I laughed, placing the candle on the edge of the wood. Picking her up, I laid her onto the piece of furniture. She winced as her flayed ass stuck to the varnish.

Pressing her sternum until she lay flat, I said, “You had the choice to say no.” Taking the candle, I smiled at the small puddle of melted wax. “You no longer have that choice.”

Holding her down with one hand, I poured a little of the wax directly onto the swell of her right breast.

She screamed, her fists clenching at the onslaught of heat. The liquid quickly hardened to solid. The slash of red looked like blood.

My cock fucking begged to climb inside her. I needed to come. Hard. I needed to sink down as far as I could until she knew just who owned her.

Stop!

My cock fucking wept. It was the monster. That piece of meat was the driving force of this whole nightmare.

Tipping the candle again, I let it splash over her left breast, licking my lips at her gasp of pain, the flash of terror in her eyes.

“God, I’m hard. So fucking hard hurting you.”

Tess turned her face away, tears flowing in a steady, uninterrupted stream. I leaned over her, licking at the delicious salt. I poured another dollop of wax right between her breasts, a large seal of blood-red fire.

Tess bit her lip, moaning in agony. “Enough! Please enough.”

What the hell was that? “Nice try, Tess. I know you’re loving this, too. I’m used to your games. Your begs won’t stop me. You gave me this power! I’ll stop when I’m good and fucking ready.”

Tess cried loudly as I tipped another spritz of wax over a nipple.

Her tears looked genuine but I knew my little minx. I knew she wanted this, just like me. She wouldn’t have agreed if she didn’t.

The instant the wax hardened, I latched my mouth around the greasy residue, biting it off. My cock lurched at the glowing burn mark left behind.

Not only did the wax look like blood but it branded her, too.

The pits of hell opened its gates at the morbid pleasure thrilling through me. Blowing out the candle, I put it down. With eager fingers, I picked at the hardened wax. Tess moaned as I peeled it from her irritated skin.

Depositing the pieces taken from her, I savoured the revealing of her burned flesh. Waves of blooming heat that I’d put there. Me. Her master.

The last piece, I dangled over Tess’s mouth. “Open.”

Her face blanched, her cheeks glistening with moisture. “You can’t be serious.”

Fuck, she was incredible. Her acting impeccable.

“Deadly. Eat it and I’ll let you up.”

Tess shook her head.

With cruel fingers, I twisted the nipple I’d burned. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. Placing the small piece of wax on her tongue, I glowered as she screwed up her face.

Raising an eyebrow, I let her make the decision of more punishment for disobeying or the end of torture by obeying.

It took a never-ending second before she grimaced and swallowed.

“Good girl.” In a fast move, I pulled her upright, before pushing her down onto all fours on the carpet. She sniffed, a small sob escaping her wracking body.

Can’t you see you’re fucking ruining her?

The sane thought came from nowhere, bringing the power of a migraine, shoving ice-picks into my temples.

Oh, fuck, what am I doing?

Pain compounded on pain. I cried out, clutching my head against the agony in my skull. I fell forward, collapsing onto one knee.

Tess tried to crawl away, the curtain of curls hiding her face but not the red punishment on her ass.

 “Where are you going?” Grabbing her ankle, I pulled her backward. “I haven’t fucking finished.” Her legs splayed; my mouth watered at the sight of her pussy.

I wanted to taste. I wanted to fuck.

Don’t do this!

Climbing over her, I pushed her onto her stomach. Locking a leg around hers, I kept her thighs completely open. Exposed.

My fingers slid up her thigh, aching to touch her.

The monster licked his lips at the thought of finally having satisfaction. Of finally taking her like I’d always wanted—rough, against her will—ruthless.

Every inch I travelled, she didn’t say a word. Not a peep or sound as she buried her face in the carpet.

The migraine made my mouth go dry; the sun became my worst fucking enemy. Too bright; digging into my eyes, ruining me further.

This is wrong!

I’m past caring.

It felt so good to finally let go. To drop my barriers. Tess wanted it. She’d encouraged me.

I couldn’t wait any longer. My fingers latched around my cock, guiding it to her pussy.

“I’m going to take you. I’m going to come so deep inside you.”

I thrust against her, wanting to lodge myself inside with one impale.

She cried out, her back bowing with agony.

I rocked forward, unable to understand why I couldn’t enter her. Come on! I needed to be inside.

Reaching between us, my forefinger stroked her clit, dropping to where the head of my cock pressed against her folds.

My world screeched to a fucking halt.

What—?  

The beast froze, giving me one clear, untainted moment.

She wasn’t wet.

Not at all.

Fuck. This can’t…no…

A surge of agony hit me like a baseball bat. My migraine shoved the monster back into its cage. Beating it with hatred, yelling, cursing, threatening to murder everything awful inside.

What have I done?

I scrambled backward, dry-retching with horror. “No. No. Fuck, no.”

Tess was the driest I’d ever felt. She isn’t wet. Everything I’d let my foggy fucked-up brain conclude had been a lie. She was drier than the Sahara.

Low moans sounded as Tess panted hard. She hadn’t moved, lying unprotestingly and ready—ready for me to fucking rape her.

My heart broke into a bazillion fractured fragments. My ears filled with screeching from the horror in my soul. “What have I done?”

Fuck.

Fucking fuck!

I could barely function. My body crashed from its high of sadist animalistic needs, leaving a junky who’d never be fixed.

“Tess—oh, my God.”

Blinking away the pain of my headache, I gathered her freezing body off the floor. Rocking back, I sat and leaned against the table leg, cocooning her on my lap.

Her body wracked with shivers, shuddering with every ragged breath.

Shit. What have I done? What have I done!

Silence echoed horribly loud. A minute ticked past. Then another. I didn’t know what to say. I had no clue how to fix the atrocity of what I’d committed.

I wanted to carve out my sick, sick brain and beg for forgiveness. But this—this was unforgivable.

Then Tess hiccupped, turning her face into my chest. Her trembling arms slowly wrapped around my neck, spreading the slickness of her tears. They turned from seeping to raging, soaking into my worthless flesh, staining my soul forever.

My fractured heart oozed with corruption and terror. Everything she’d said was a lie. She’d made me hurt her against her consent.

I’d spun the worst kind of lies by listening to the darkness inside me.

I howled silently, slamming the cage into place, locking it forever. Never again would I let myself be swayed. Never again would I believe what Tess said.

Lies had the power to tear apart a relationship—it also had the power to kill.

How much further would I have gone?

I never wanted to know the answer.

My eyes smarted with rage—rage so hot and torrid I wanted to kill myself for being so fucked up. Then the rage dissolved under the colossal weight of guilt—rock after rock—burying me alive.

“Why?” I whispered. “Why did you let me do it?” My arms banded tighter, completely terrified she’d walk out the door.

How could she ever stand to look at me again? Nothing could fix what I’d done. No apology or heartfelt note could ever excuse almost raping the woman I would die for.

I couldn’t stomach it. I couldn’t breathe with the enormity of what I’d become.

Burying my face in her hair, I gave myself over to despair. “Tess, je suis tellement désolé.” I'm so unbelievably sorry.

She hunched in on herself, but her arms wrapped tighter around my neck. My migraine pressed me further into the depths of hell. I suffocated on her hair. I’d never be able to look into her eyes again.

I was scum. Fucking awful terrible scum.

“Why? Why, Tess?” How could you let me do this—after everything?

She sniffed, raising her head. I gripped her harder, forcing her to stay, shaking until my teeth clacked together.

Pushing me a little, she sat upright, snuggling closer in my arms. “Because I love you, and I didn’t want to let you down.”

I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it.

I squeezed my eyes, unable to look at her. I was the worst kind of villain. Once a devil always a devil. I’d finally shown my true form. I’d shown Tess just how heinous I truly was. I’d lost my soul.

 “Let me down? Fuck, Tess, you’ve just destroyed me. You let me do that against your will.”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t against my will. I let it happen. I gave myself to you because I love you.”

A cavernous hole opened in my chest, sucking me down and down. I didn’t deserve her love. I deserved nothing. Nothing.

 “You can’t love me. Not now.”

Her face shone with tears but the strength I’d needed so badly shone in her gaze. “Yes. I do.”

I couldn’t bear to look at her anymore. Bowing my head, I concentrated on the sickness rampaging my body. I threw myself into the pit of pain knowing it was all I ever deserved.

“Q—” Her hand landed on my cheek. “Look at me.”

I couldn’t.

“Q—it’s okay.”

Rage.

She’d made me become this…this monster by being the perfect submissive. She’d drawn out the part of me I’d forever kept dormant. There was nothing okay about that.

“Don’t. Just stop it. None of this is okay. Don’t you get it? I would’ve raped you. I would’ve been no better than those fuckers I’ve put down like dogs. Don’t you dare tell me this is okay!”

Tess flinched but her touch never left my face. Her eyes locked onto mine, looking angelic and so forgiving.

The anger suddenly evaporated, leaving me a trembling wreck. Resting my forehead against hers, I whispered, “We’re broken.”

Tess froze. “No. Don’t say that.”

“We are. I’ve ruined us. Ruined you. Ruined everything.”

“I’ll get better. I’ll find myself again. I know I will.”

I didn’t believe her.

“Did you even want me before—when we first arrived?” The need to know filled me with undeniable urgency. She’d come for me. She’d been wet. But what if I took advantage? What if she hadn’t wanted me to go near her? I was already condemned.

“Yes. More than anything. I loved having you inside me.”

My arms lassoed tighter, trying to calm the confusion inside. The migraine coated everything in gritty agony—lacing with tears I wished I could shed.

Then it hit me.

The truth.

The truth Tess had tried so hard to hide and by doing so fed the demons inside.

She no longer wanted pain.

The jitters stopped, leaving me freezing cold and numb.

She doesn’t want what I do anymore.

Tess curled closer, her eyes swimming with tears. She knew I’d figured it out.

“I’m so sorry, Q. So sorry.”

I couldn’t stand her apologising—not when I’d be forever indebted and endlessly sorry for what I’d done.

“You’ve nothing to apologise for.”

“But I can’t give you what you need anymore. I’m the one who ruined everything.”

Temper thawed my numbness. “It wasn’t you. It was them.” Capturing the back of her neck, I glared into her eyes. “Listen to me, Tess. Nothing and I mean nothing can stop me from loving you. I don’t fucking care if you no longer need pain. I’ve sworn my life to you—if you’ll still have me—don’t you ever feel guilty for this.”

“But it isn’t enough.” She used her hair as a cloak to hide her true despair, but I saw it. Fuck, I tasted it. “It isn’t enough for you,” she breathed.

She’s right.

I hated that she was right.

No matter how much I wished it. No matter how hard I tried. I would never be able to control myself without a small outlet—a small avenue of granting what I so needed.

You almost broke her. That’s enough to bury those urges forever.

A small curl of confidence strengthened me. I could use the debilitating fear of what I’d just done as a deterrent. Yes, I could bury them. Because I never wanted to hurt Tess again.

“Esclave. I don’t give a fuck anymore. I refuse to lay one finger on you. After today, I’ll keep my needs under control.” I sighed, hugging her harder. “I want you.  You and me. Together. That’s all that matters.”

All my life I never thought I’d find someone to match me. I’d carefully kept my heart locked away for that very reason. No woman should have to put up with a man like me.

But life decided to create a perfect other. A girl so strong and brave I was in total awe of her.

And I fell flat on my face in love with her.

I’d had the perfection of a life I never thought I could have for three fucking days.  Then the devil stole her, hurt her, damaged her, and left me with a shattered dream.

Fucking bastards.

I howled for my loss. I snarled for the ghost of the girl I’d fallen for.

I’d lost her and any chance of complete happiness I stood to have.

Looking at her, I drank in her beauty. I’ve lost you.

Tess shifted in my arms. “You haven’t. Don’t ever think that.”

My eyes flared. “I didn’t say anything.”

Her gaze turned liquid with sadness. “You didn’t have to. I know you think you’ve lost me. But you haven’t. You never will.” Her chilled body scattered with goosebumps even in the warm room. The sunlight had faded to twilight, leaving us in shadows.

“This changes nothing. I still want you to love me in your way. I need you to still take me. Promise.”

My lips pulled back. “You can’t be serious. I’m not going to hit you for my own pleasure. That makes me no better than everything I’ve run away from.” I swallowed, trying to keep my heart from threading with anger. “It was different before. You wanted it. I fed off you—I lived to please you. But now…” I sucked in a breath. “Don’t ask me to hurt you again, esclave, because I won’t. Ever.”

She shook her head, curls cascading over her shoulders. “Don’t say that. I want you to. You have to believe me.”

My muscles locked in incredulous anger. Imprisoning her, I glowered. “Forgive me, Tess, but everything you just said is bullshit. Your lies piss me off. I know you don’t want it.”

Her face went from imploring to young—so fucking young. She looked lost and afraid and on the verge of tears. The truth she’d been trying to hide burst forth. “You’re right. The thought of you hurting me terrifies me. I no longer need it to feel alive. I no longer crave that bond through pain.” Her eyes glassed with unshed tears. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t want you or need you to take me however you want. Je suis à toi, Q.”

I dropped my hold, my body seizing with understanding.

That’s what set me off before. That’s what conjured all the rottenness from my soul.

She’d given me power over her, all the while deploring it. The mixed signals had turned her into ultimate prey.

I shoved her off me, bolting upright. Yanking my hands through my hair, I stumbled backward. “You can’t do this.”

Tess scrambled to her feet, spreading her hands, looking as if she calmed a beast. “I already have.”

“God, Tess. Qu’est-ce qu’ils t’ont fait putain?” What did they fucking do to you?

Somehow, I’d broken the one slave I thought would be forever strong enough to defy me. Her inner spirit was gone. Her will to fight me vanished.

My wonderful Slave Fifty-Eight had turned into the one thing every cruel master wanted.

She’d willingly given me every part of herself.

Her pain.

Her sanity.

Her free will.

She sacrificed her happiness all to keep me pleased.

Fuck.

I groaned as the gross realization of what I’d lost finally crashed into me.

She was perfect.

She was mine to control.

She would never argue or say no.

She wasn’t just in love with me. She believed she fully belonged and would spend her life never displeasing me or fighting back.

She was the perfect slave.

My heart raced to a dying beat. “God, Tess. What have you done?”

She couldn’t have decimated me more. She’d taken all my dreams, throwing me headfirst into the dark. She’d made me become him.

She’d turned me into my fucking father.

Standing on the precipice, I visualized my future.  Two paths. Two choices. One, I could accept Tess’s unselfish gift and take her—become her true master forever. Or I could reject her offer and fight to get my woman back.

Take her. Accept it.

I growled as a slow burn scorched through me. Temptation. Sheer fucking temptation. It would be so easy to accept the blackness and take her as the ultimate submissive.

Too tempting. Far, far too tempting.

But by accepting, I would condemn myself to a life worse than death. I’d lose myself forever.

I’d be no better than the man I strove never to become.

I would kill her.

Tess stayed bowed at my feet; her gorgeous face glowing in the gloom. She looked like a goddess straight from another universe—sent there to see just how far I’d fall.

She was sublime. She was majestic. She annihilated me.

“Tess—” My lips wouldn’t move. I wanted to tell her to snap out of whatever enactment she played. I wanted to shake her, slap her, hit her until the old fire and thrill of pleasure and pain came back into her eyes.

But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go near her—not while she stayed so open and willing at my feet. I could feel the beast inside reaching for her, snarling at the taste of fully owning her. If I let myself touch her, it would be over. She wouldn’t be my wife. She would be my slave. I would never find balance again.

I was better than that. Tess deserved more than that.

I had to find a way to end all of this horror.

I had to rewind time.

* * *

“On your knees, esclave.”

Tess slid to the floor, looking so fucking beautiful in a sheer silver dress and no underwear. Every bruise, every cut, every bite glowed beneath the fine material, stamping my ownership. Marking my claim.

“Please—not again,” she whimpered, sliding to the carpet.

Her disobedience drove me mad—I’d teach her a lesson about her rights. Namely that she had none.

“Your only purpose is to please me. Open that pretty little mouth.”

Her face blanched, but her lips parted like a good little slave. She wore no collar but the brand on her neck glittered silver with permanent scarring.

Mine.

My hands landed on her head as my cock slid into her mouth. Deeper, deeper, harder, harder.

She whimpered but accepted, spit trailing down her chin as I used her.

The need to come overpowered me, tingling my back, locking my quads. I threw Tess to the floor, and a whip appeared in my hand. I wanted to come all over her while making her skin glow red.

“I won’t. Don’t make me,” Tess pleaded. She fell silent as I struck her.

And struck her.

“I’m not making you do anything you didn’t want. You did this. You made me become this. You gave yourself to a monster.”

I hit her again.

And again.

And again.

I jolted awake.

Launching upright, I glared around the opulent suite. My hand disappeared under the pillow for the HK P2000 hidden there. Franco wasn’t the only one who carried concealed weapons.

Heart revving, eyes darting, I flicked the safety off ready to fucking eradicate any bastard who dared come near Tess again.

The room was dark as a tomb—no light peeked through the black-out curtains, no trickle of illumination anywhere.

The dream echoed behind my eyes.